Introduction:
Before you begin you need to read everything you can about soapmaking. This tutorial will not go over everything, so you need to be well-read on the subject before you begin.
Hot Process Soapmaking is great in that it doesn’t take very long to make, you can use it as soon as it cools off (or before if you don’t mind it being a little hot), and it is comparable to the alternative method, being Cold Process. The fundamental difference between Hot and Cold process is the way that their natural byproduct, glycerin, is distributed throughout the final product. In Hot Process soaps the glycerin usually floats to the top, leaving some in the rest of the bar. Cold Process has the glycerin fairly evenly distributed throughout, leaving minimal rough edges, unless they are intended by the maker. Now that doesn’t mean that either type is inferrior to the other. It just depends on what you prefer. My opinion is, Cold Process is tedious work, but yields a very astetic bar. When I make Hot Process, I reduce the chances of messing up the batch and with a little effort, I have an equally astetic and twice as practical product.
From here on out I will use these abbreviations:
Hot Process HP
Cold Process CP
Essential Oil EO
Fragrance Oil FO
Supplies:
digital scale (measures pounds, ounces, and grams depending on what recipe you choose)
wooden spoon
stainless steel spoon
rubber spatula
Large crock pot (the bigger the better)
egg beater attachment or a plastic paint mixer with a stainless steel shaft from wally world
electric drill, Some people use a nifty stick blender, but I just don’t have one and you can get alot more fire power from a drill
Pringle’s can or other type of mold (am using a hand made ‘log’ mold in these pics)
Glass pint jars
Glass bowl
Safety equipment (gloves, goggles, mask)
Packaging stuff for the final product like, wax paper, freezer paper, cellophane
Here is a recipe designed for a beginner:
If you would like do design your own recipe using higher quality oils, go here
8 oz Corn oil
8 oz Olive Oil
16 oz Soybean Shortening
For this process you can either use water or milk to initiate the saponification process (mwa ha ha ha ha …). Here are both measurements, but don’t use them both in the same recipe =-)
10.5 oz water or
12 oz goat milk
4 oz lye (sodium hydroxide) 98% pure or higher. I get it here
and for scent you will need 1 1/2 oz EO
You can use FO’s too, but I don’t recomend it.
If you have already read any literature about soapmaking, you know that you need at least one clean counter-top free of papers and clutter, a sink, and, if you do it my way, a hard floor.
Procedure
Please read all instructions including a safety tutorial before you begin.
Turn your crock pot on high. Measure all oils into the pot and let them melt.
While they are melting, weigh the milk or water in a glass bowl and put it in the freezer. How frozen it is when you add the lye is really a matter of preference. I like it good and frozen solid. Make sure that there is enough room for the liquid AND the lye in the bowl.
This milk was being stored in the freezer so it is already frozen. We think it is also part colostrum, but it didn’t seem to effect the soap.
Measure your lye in another glass container that you can easily pour from. Sorry, I didn’t take any pics of this one.
Measure your EO in yet another glass container and set aside. I use pint jars because they are much easier to clean.
Here I am using French Lavender from Fragrance and Flavors
You can use this time to prepare your mold. You might want to get some ideas from an outside source about what to use. You can use a cooking pan that is lined with freezer paper. Do not let soap come into direct contact with metals that aren’t stainless steel. Sometimes the soap will react with aluminum, copper, etc. You can use glass with no liner, but be sure to lightly grease it.
My log mold holds a six pound batch. It makes 24, 4oz bars and is lines with freezer paper.
When everything is melted and frozen, remove the liquid from the freezer. Make sure your drill and mixer are hooked up and in easy reach as well as your wooden spoon. Place the bowl of liquid in the sink. With one hand SLOWLY pour the lye into it and with the other begin stirring as best you can (considering that it is frozen).
This is what it will look like if you use milk. If you use water, it will be clear.
When it is all mixed with no lye chunks, pour into the crock pot being careful not to splash. Begin mixing with the drill. It will experience various changes throughout the cook. But, keep mixing.
Just poured the lye and liquid in and began mixing.
It is beginning to emulsify.
OMG!!! I’ve killed it! ….just kidding
Its pulse is faint, but I think its gonna make it!
Beginning to tire of uploading images. I think I’ll skip right to the end.
This is what it will/should look like at the very end. It takes about 30-45 minutes for the soap to thoroughly saponify.
At this point, turn off the pot.
Ok, when I start mixing I have the crock pot on an extension cord so that I can place it on the floor. I do this so that I can sit in a chair while I’m mixing. When it is done you can add your EO’s and mix again for a minute. Now, pour it into your prepared mold and bang it up and down on the floor. You do this to even it out and get out the air bubbles.
This is actually 1/4 of the original recipe. I wanted to make a smaller amount to only fill a portion of a used shampoo bottle. This works very well.
4 oz raw shea butter
2 oz olive oil
2 oz Sweet Almond oil
.5 ml Lavender EO
.5 ml Patchouli EO
You might have noticed that I measure most EO’s using milliliters in lotion recipes and such. We have an abundance of old ML/CC syringes and they work great for measuring small amounts of EO’s. As it goes with most of my recipes, I think you could easily use different oils according to what you have available. If I was going to change it around, I would only mess with the liquid oils, keeping the shea butter qualities and the half solid and half liquid ratio. You could definately change the Almond oil with Castor oil, as thats what the original recipe called for.
Instructions: Add all ingredients except for the EO’s and half of the shea butter to the kitchen aid bowl. Melt the other half of the sb in a small sauce pan. When its just melted and pretty hot add it to the bowl and mix it all up. When all of the sb is melted, add the EO and put the contents of the bowl into a used (or new) shampoo bottle with at least an 8 oz compasity.
Eventually it will develop a nice, store-bought-like consistency.
Instructions for in-shower use: This is what I do with my relatively long, thick hair. You might want to experiment with what works best for you.
Divide hair in half. Measure a quarter sized dollop and work it into the ends of hair. Shampoo out
Three easy steps…
Ingredients
1qt yogurt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup raw sugar
2 1/2 cups frozen fruit chopped small (raspberries, blackberried, strawberries, etc.)
Preparation
Combine yogurt, milk, and sugar in a mixing bowl; stir until sugar dissolves.
Place thawed raspberries in mixer. Mix until they are broken up.
Pour the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. Eat!!
1 3/4 c organic flour
1 1/2 c 100% whole wheat flour (like the kind that you grind)
1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1 cup warm water
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1tbsp flax seed
Whisk together the flours, salt, and flax. Add the water and olive oil. Using a mixer with a dough hook attachment mix the dough at medium speed for about 5 - 7 minutes. The dough should be just a bit tacky - not too dry, not too sticky to work with. I didn’t need to add any more flour or water than what it called for.
When you are done mixing, shape the dough into a large ball. Now pull into about 12-16 spheres. Gently dip and rub each piece with a bit of olive oil, shape into a small ball and place on a plate. Cover with a clean dishtowel and let rest at room temperature for 30 - 60 minutes.
While the dough is resting, preheat your oven to 400F degrees.
When the dough is done resting, flatten one dough ball. Using a rolling pin, shape into a flat strip of dough. Set dough on a baking sheet, poke each cracker with the tines of a fork to prevent puffing, add any extra salt, and place in the oven. Repeat the process for the remaining dough balls.
Bake until golden brown.
Jam Cookies
INGREDIENTS
* 1 cup butter, softened
* 2 1/2 cups organic flour
* 1 cup raw sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* preserves (I used elderberry- blackberry jam and lemon-lime marmalade)
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheets.
2. Cream the butter with the sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
3. Mix the flour and baking powder together. Stir in the flour mixture into the butter mixture and combine.
4. Refridgerate dough for 30min-2 hours (depending on how long you want to wait). Divide dough in half. Roll out one half to about 1/4 in thick and cut with cookie cutters. Put dough-cookies onto greased pans. Repeat with other half (dividing in half makes it easier to handle). Put about 1tsp jam onto the center of each cookie. Bake until edges are golden-brown. They may look doughy, but its because of the jam. PLEASE wait until they are COMPLETELY cool to eat them! The cookie part might be cool, but the jam is blazin’! My mouth is still recovering…
R-CALF USA’s TOP 10 REASONS to OPPOSE NAIS’ PREMISES REGISTRATION
http://www.r-calfusa.com/Animal%
20ID/08020710Reason
s2OpposeNAISPremises%20Registration.pdf
1. Registering a premises with the Federal government without
receiving just compensation constitutes a voluntary surrender of any
constitutional rights – right of property and freedom from
unreasonable governmental searches – associated with registered
premises.
2. Registering a premises with the Federal government without receiving
just compensation constitutes a voluntary submission to any invasion
of private property rights and government intrusion into private
business operations associated registered premises.
3. Registering a premises without entering into a contract that
expressly limits the Federal government’s authority over the
premises may result in subjecting the premises and its registrant to
any and all future rules, regulations and policies that the Federal
government may later decide to impose on such registrants.
4. Registering a premises under the guise of protecting against the
spread of Foreign Animal Diseases effectively gives the Federal
government a license to abandon the most effective means of
preventing Foreign Animal Diseases in the first place – disallowing
imports from disease-affected countries.
5. Registering a premises without entering into a contract that
expressly prohibits the Federal government from allowing access to
premises information could subject the registrant to unwanted
exposure to other Federal and state agencies and animal rights
extremists.
6. Registering a premises could result in greater legal exposure of
cattle producers for events that occur after the registrant’s cattle
leave the farm or ranch.
7. Registering a premises would result in the voluntary inclusion of
the registrants’ farm, ranch, home, and cattle to a general system
of permanent registration of personal property that currently is
only applicable to items that could be highly dangerous if misused –
automobiles and guns.
8. A registered premises alone provides no greater disease trace-back
potential than simply knowing the owner of the animal or animals in
question, unless there is far more to the Federal government’s plan
than to simply obtain registered premises.
9. Premises registration is the foundational building block needed by
the Federal government to immediately implement a full-scale,
mandatory National Animal Identification System (NAIS), with little
to no input from cattle producers.
10. Voluntary premises registration sends a strong signal to the Federal
government that U.S. cattle producers give the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) a high approval rating for all the agency’s
policies and actions that impact U.S. cattle producers – it
demonstrates that U.S. cattle producers have the utmost faith and
trust in the USDA’s past, present and future actions.
Note: To print out a copy of this list, visit the “Animal ID” link
at www.r-calfusa.com, or contact R-CALF USA Communications
Coordinator Shae Dodson at the phone number or e-mail address listed
above.
# # #
R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United
Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization
dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of
the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S.
cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located
across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle
backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has dozens of
affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are
associate members. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com
or, call 406-252-2516.
Here’s what I do with the scrapings of soap that are left all over the place after I make soap. One 6 pound batch of soap yields about 2 oz of scraps, but I weigh them anyway because if you don’t use enough soap your clothes will get drabby. So, this is sort of like a tutorial without pics.
Supplies:
1 empty laundry detergent jug with measuring lid (jug size one gallon or larger)
2 qt sauce pan
1 quart and half gallon jars for measuring
funnel
cheese grater
Ingredients:
2 wt oz soap~ Ok, here are the different types that I have used and what I thought:
Ivory body bar- very low quality and does not emulsify into the mixture, but is cheap
Glycerin/Melt and Pour (what you would get from Bath and Body Works)- great
Liquid soaps like dish detergent, body wash, etc. -great
handmade soap- great
Purpose (”the most best soap on the market” which is total BS)- but oh so good for washing clothes!
1 qt water (to dissolve soap)
3 qt water (to dissolve baking soda and borax in jug)
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup borax
about 1-2 tablespoons essential oil or fragrance oil (I don’t usually use fragrance oil in my soap, but on clothes it doesn’t really matter unless you are highly sensitive.)
Steps:
1. Put 1qt of water in jug and swish it around. Then put it into the saucepan on medium heat.
2. Weigh soap scrap and add it to sauce pan.
3. Put 3 qts water, baking soda, and borax into jug. You can shake it if you like, but it really makes no difference after you’ve made this stuff a million times. Also add fragrance now and put the lid on.
4. When the soap/water has dissolved put it into the jug. You can use it right when you make it or wait until it has solidified a bit.
Congratulations! You have taken one of a few steps involved in becoming an independent laundry detergent manufacturer.
This is a very versatile meal that can be made entirely from leftovers. Not to mention that it is really pretty healthy if prepared properly and its fast.
Original Recipe
4 cups cold rice
1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 fresh green onions
3 eggs scrambled
carrots, celery, peas (about 1/2 cup each)
1 taplespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt and some herb seasoning if desired
Put rice and 1/4 cup oil in dutch oven over medium heat. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. Saute vegetables in 1 tablespoon olive oil in another skillet and add when nicely browned. Scramble eggs in skillet used to saute veggies. Add to dutch oven. Sprinkle salt and seasoning over contents of dutch oven. Serve
when adequately warmed.
There are tons of different ways to make this so, have fun with it!
Soap and Saponification
Preparation & Chemical Structure
One of the organic chemical reactions known to ancient man was the preparation of soaps through a reaction called saponification. Natural soaps are sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids, originally made by boiling lard or other animal fat together with lye or potash (potassium hydroxide). Hydrolysis of the fats and oils occurs, yielding glycerol and crude soap.
In the industrial manufacture of soap, tallow (fat from animals such as cattle and sheep) or vegetable fat is heated with sodium hydroxide. Once the saponification reaction is complete, sodium chloride is added to precipitate the soap. The water layer is drawn off the top of the mixture and the glycerol is recovered using vacuum distillation.
The crude soap obtained from the saponification reaction contains sodium chloride, sodium hydroxide, and glycerol. These impurities are removed by boiling the crude soap curds in water and re-precipitating the soap with salt. After the purification process is repeated several times, the soap may be used as an inexpensive industrial cleanser. Sand or pumice may be added to produce a scouring soap. Other treatments may result in laundry, cosmetic, liquid, and other soaps.
http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/blsapon.htm
If it is your dream to live on and own a homestead, the first thing you need is a bookshelf. Here is a list of books that we have found essential. Some of them we even found at thrift stores.
Home Cheese Making, By Ricki Carroll
This is an excellent technical guide for making healthy cheeses with your own milk. There are some things in this book that I personally don’t agree with, such as pastuerizing the milk used for making cheese. I just skip that part.
Storey’s Guide to Raising Dairy Goats, by Jerry Belanger
A good illustrated guide to goat raising. Contains illustrations of goat breeds, hoof trimming, milking, housing, fencing, poisionous plants, and common ailments. Contains essential information about feeding and pasture.
Your Goats A Kid’s Guide to Raising and Showing, by Gail Luttman
A cute little book putting goat raising in easy to understand terms. Good as a quick reference, but doesn’t go into as much detail as I would prefer. For instance, it shows illustrations of abnormal kid presentations, but does not suggest what to do about it. I think she did that to keep children from killing their goats trying to get a good presentation.
Raising Milk Goats Successfully, by Gail Damerow
This is a well rounded goat raising book.
Rodale’s Successful Organic Gardening Vegetables, by Patricia S. Michalak and Cass Peterson
I wouldn’t dare plant a tomatoe without this book. Its amazing except for the fact that it says not to eat arnica =-P
Enemies Foreign and Domestic, by Matthew Bracken
To stimulate a healthy paranoia…
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